Richard Overton
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1906-2018) Born in the Pleasant Valley community in Bastrop County to Gentry Overton Sr. (1877-1920) and Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Franklin) Overton Waters (1876-1939), Richard Arvin Overton gained notoriety as the oldest World War II veteran and living man in the United States. Richard moved to Travis County in early adulthood. He married his first wife, Novella Prince, on December 21, 1926, but soon after moved to East Austin.On September 3, 1942, at Fort Sam Houston, Richard enlisted in the United States Army. He served in the all-Black unit of the 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion, serving in the South Pacific, including in Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The 1887th Battalion was notable for clearing land to build "North Field," a strategic airstrip on the island of Guam, which later became Andersen Air Force Base. Overton left the Army in 1945 as a Technician Fifth Grade. Eventually, he earned the rank of Corporal and received an expert rife marksmanship badge, along with other military awards.He later married Wilma Galloway (1910-1988). The couple had no children. In 1948, they built a home in the College Heights subdivision in East Austin. Overton worked in a warehouse, and later, for the Texas Treasury Department as a courier. He retired in the 1970s. Overton continued to be a staple in his community. In the early twenty-first century, he was honored in the White House by the President as the oldest living World War II veteran. He died at the age of 112 and is buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. (2023)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in 1906 in the Pleasant Valley community, Richard Overton enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in the segregated 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion across the Pacific, helping clear the airstrip on Guam that became Andersen Air Force Base. He returned to East Austin, built a home, and worked as a courier, becoming a beloved fixture of his neighborhood. Recognized in his final years as the oldest living American man and the nation's oldest World War II veteran, he was honored at the White House before his death in 2018 at age 112.
Why it matters
Overton's long life bridged the era of Jim Crow military segregation and 21st-century national recognition, honoring the Black servicemen whose labor and sacrifice helped win the war even as their country denied them equality.
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